Sept 9 - Get on the bus down from the mountainside to downtown. Were unable to get city bus tickets yesterday (holiday, no ticket stalls open) so just get on and try to pay there. The driver sells us a ticket but isn’t happy about it. Wait around at a corner to get picked up by a pre-arranged minibus that will take us to some sights south and west of town.
Go up the mountains south of town, though the village of Gorno Nerezi. Like many small towns, it has very few active residents left, most having gone to places with viable jobs.
The St. Panteleimon Church, constructed in 1164.
Some great artwork still visible on the walls.
Like most structures, the church suffered a lot of damage in the 1963 earthquake.
The domed ceiling of the central chamber.
A lot of cats here, that are taken care of by the resident monks.
A view out over Skopje.
From here continue southeast to Matka Canyon. It has a small dam, but is steep enough that the artificial lake is very narrow.
The dam was completed and operational in 1938. It was almost blown up by retreated fascist forces during WW II (but survived), and was finally decommissioned in 2008.
About 30 minutes up the canyon by boat is the Vrelo Cave. Much of it is underwater, and is supposedly one of the deepest underwater caves in the world.
This stalagmite is called the ‘pine cone’, and is treated to some dramatic lighting.
Hard to see in the photo, but there is a major upwelling here from water flowing through the underwater portion of Vrelo Cave and exiting into the canyon.
The last part of the boat ride was during a rainstorm.
Leave the tour bus at the central bus station, where I buy tickets for our next destination in a few days. Then we head back to the city center, and north into the older, more Ottoman-inspired district.
Davut Pasa Hammam, now an art gallery.
One of the pieces on display in the gallery, by the Macedonian artist Dimitar Kondovski.
This of course was Odette’s favorite.
Sultan Murat Mosque.
Entrance to the mosque. It was Friday prayers, so we decided not to bother everyone by going in.
A fairly elaborate clocktower just north of the mosque.
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